Phone Directories....

[tedebear]

A Thompson Local just thudded through the door... I can't understand how and why they are still printing phone book type things anymore. Its a frigging waste of paper and ink to print one for every house in the country when I would think more than 50% of the country would use online directory services now, or call directory enquiries.

Do you use a phone book/directory or do you search online? Probably not going to be very indicative here as most of us on here are computer types, and I'm guessing its the elderly or those without computers are more likely to use a paper directory. But I think its a heck of a waste anyhow...

 

[pasty]

I find it comes in very handy for leveling out a very wobbly book case we have in the hallway.

 

[Icy Gull]

Don't use them much but for local services they are quite handy as internet searches don't necessarily bring up as many options imo. Yell.com seems to be getting better these days though. Paper directories days must be numbered, expect them to disappear soon.

 

[Springal]

thery should make it opt in!

 

[Spiros]

If I'm searching for something it's nearly always online, but the missus is computer illiterate and relies on things like Thomson local and Yellow Pages. Also when you look at the directory ad you tend to get a bit more info about the company as still quite a few, especially small companies, don't have websites.

I think it'll be a little while yet before the paper directories have had their day, but I have noticed that the phone book gets thinner all the time as more and more people go ex-directory

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I have noticed that the phone book gets thinner all the time as more and more people go ex-directory

... or, more likely, give up their landlines and use mobiles instead.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I think the majority of people now search online for directory information. The reason they are still printing the paper directories is that it generates a lot of cash for the publisher as the advertisers in the YP and Thompson pay a fortune to be listed. Residential customer numbers are difficult to locate as a large percentage are ex-directory or only have a mobile that is unlisted. Ever since Ofcom ruled that Directory Assistance should be opened up to competition and introduced the 118 numbers the system has gone to pot. People can only remember 118118 as a number to ring for an operator to search the database and should realise that the expertise and local knowledge they get is severely compromised by the operator being based in a Phillipines call centre.

 

[Easy 10]

Paper directories days must be numbered, expect them to disappear soon.

I reckon the days of the diary are numbered as well.

*taps nose knowingly*

 

[Deano's Right Foot]

Aren't they a security risk - they've got thousands of names and addresses and telephone numbers in them? Surely Gordon Brown should resign because of this lapse of security

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I reckon the days of the diary are numbered as well.

*taps nose knowingly*

Whats a diary , mate ? Is it a filofax for chavs ?

 

[Easy 10]

Whats a diary , mate ?

EXACTLY, Grimbo.
EXACTLY.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

EXACTLY, Grimbo.
EXACTLY.

Sorry edited my post before you posted back.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I'll probaby get one for Xmas now from R M Taylor. Entry for December 25 - Crimbo in Grimbo - how f***ing depressing !

 

[Storer68]

Got to be provided BY LAW

2003 No. 1904


ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS


The Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003

Made 17th July 2003
Laid before Parliament 21st July 2003
Coming into force 25th July 2003

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by section 65 of the Communications Act 2003[1], and following consultation with OFCOM and other appropriate persons in accordance with section 65(4) of that Act, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation and Commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 and shall come into force on 25th July 2003.

Interpretation
2. In this Order -


"the Act" means the Communications Act 2003;

"disability" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995[2];

"network termination point" means the physical point at which a subscriber is provided with access to a public electronic communications network and in the case of electronic communications networks involving switching or routing, the network termination point is identified by means of a specific electronic communications network address, which may be linked to a subscriber's number or name;

"publicly available telephone service" means a service available to the public for originating and receiving national and international calls and access to emergency services through a telephone number or numbers in a national or international telephone numbering plan, and may, where relevant, also include one or more of the following -

(a) the provision of operator assistance,

(b) directory enquiry facilities,

(c) directories,

(d) the provision of public pay telephones,

(e) the provision of service under special terms,

(f) the provision of specific facilities for end-users with a disability or with special social needs, and

(g) the provision of non-geographic services;



"public pay telephone" means a telephone available to the general public, for the use of which the means of payment may include one or more of the following:

(a) coins;

(b) credit or debit cards; and

(c) pre-payment cards, including cards for use with dialling codes;



"public telephone network" means an electronic communications network which is used to provide publicly available telephone services and supports the transfer between network termination points of speech communications, and also other forms of communications, such as facsimile and data;

"relay service" means a service which:

(a) provides facilities for the receipt and translation of voice messages into text and text into voice messages, and the conveyance of that text or voice message to the textphone of subscribers of a person providing a publicly available telephone service; and

(b) has been approved as a text relay service by OFCOM;



"subscriber" means any person who is a party to a contract with the provider of a public electronic communications service for the supply of such service; and

"textphone" means an integrated terminal incorporating an alphanumeric keyboard and means of displaying text, intended for connection to the public telephone network for the sole or primary purpose of supporting live telephone conversations between two or more individuals.
Universal service obligations
3. The extent to which the things falling within section 65(2) of the Act must be provided, made available or supplied throughout the United Kingdom is set out in the Schedule to this Order.

Guidance on the pricing of universal service obligations
4. The matters set out in the Schedule should be offered at prices that are:



(a) affordable for all end-users; and

(b) uniform throughout the United Kingdom, unless OFCOM have determined that there is clear justification for not doing so.



Stephen Timms,
Minister of State for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services, Department of Trade and Industry

17th July 2003





SCHEDULE
Article 3

Publicly available telephone services
1. - (1) At least one designated universal service provider shall meet all reasonable requests by end-users for connection at a fixed location to the public telephone network and for access to publicly available telephone services at a fixed location.

(2) The connection referred to in sub-paragraph (1) shall be capable of allowing end-users to make and receive local, national and international telephone calls, facsimile communications and data communications, at data rates that are sufficient to permit functional Internet access, taking into account prevailing technologies used by the majority of subscribers and technological feasibility.

(3) Access to a publicly available telephone service in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) shall continue to be provided in the event of non-payment of bills for the use of that service, unless the provider of the service has first taken adequate measures regarding interruption to, or disconnection of the service.

Directories
2. - (1) At least one comprehensive directory shall be made available to end-users in a form approved by OFCOM, whether printed or electronic, or both, and it shall be updated at least once a year.

(2) This directory shall comprise, subject to the provisions of the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999[3], the details of all subscribers of publicly available telephone services and their telephone numbers, including fixed and mobile telephone numbers.

Directory Enquiry Facilities
3. - (1) At least one comprehensive telephone directory enquiry facility shall be made available to end-users, including users of public pay telephones.

(2) This facility shall comprise, subject to the provisions of the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999, the details of all subscribers of publicly available telephone services and their telephone numbers, including fixed and mobile telephone numbers.

Public pay telephones
4. - (1) Public pay telephones shall be provided to meet the reasonable needs of end-users in terms of geographical coverage, the number of telephones and the quality of public electronic communication services.

(2) It shall be possible to make emergency calls from public pay telephones using the single European emergency call number "112" and the UK emergency call number "999", free of charge and without the use of coins or cards.

Billing, payment and tariff options
5. - (1) Facilities, methods of billing and methods of accepting payment for electronic communications services that enable subscribers to monitor and control their expenditure in relation to the use of those services shall be provided to subscribers of services provided by designated universal service providers.

(2) Appropriate tariff options and packages that depart from those provided under normal commercial conditions shall be made available by designated universal service providers to the subscribers of their services who are on low incomes or have special social needs.

Special measures for end-users with a disability
6. - (1) Special measures shall be taken to ensure access to and affordability of publicly available telephone services for end-users with a disability equivalent to those enjoyed by other end-users.

(2) The measures to be taken for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) shall include:


(a) provision of access to the directory information facilities provided for the purposes of paragraph 3 in a form appropriate to meet the needs of end-users with a disability who are unable to use a telephone directory in a form in which it is generally available to other end-users;

(b) provision of priority fault repair services to end-users with a disability as is necessary to ensure access to publicly available telephone services by such end-users;

(c) provision of, and the provision of access to, relay services for end-users with a disability where required to ensure access to publicly available telephone services by such end-users;

(d) methods of billing and methods of accepting payment for publicly available telephone services in an appropriate format for subscribers with a disability, including provision for such subscribers to nominate a third party to handle their billing issues; and

(e) accessibility and functionality of the public pay telephones to be provided for the purposes of paragraph 4 for use by end-users with a disability, including the adequate provision of textphone facilities.

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

when i get mine, i carefully go through it and cross out everyone i dont know.

hey presto...a cheap and convenient phone number and address book

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I used to handle International Directory calls so under this Law we had to take due consideration of people with disabilities. Calls from the Blind & Disabled Bureau in Sheffield took ages as an operator used to pass over the details to us as given to them by the customer , but these were a doddle compared to calls coming in from Typetalk (text service for the deaf) as the operators in Liverpool had to type in everything we said so that it could be relayed back to the customer who would then start typing away again.

 

[Ding Dong !]

A lot of people do still use them. I advertise in both the Yellow Pages and Thomson local and I'd say approx 30% - 40% of my work a year comes from these directories.

I'm a locksmith by trade and when I attend people who are locked out of their homes they do not have a computer to hand ! Most lockouts I attend I will generally find them in a neighbours house after they have picked a locksmith from one of the directories.

Useful for my trade but theses directories charge us a fortune. A half page colour
ad in Yellow Pages locksmith section costs me £6K a year !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Useful for my trade but theses directories charge us a fortune. A half page colour
ad in Yellow Pages locksmith section costs me £6K a year !!!!!!!!!!!

Outrageous charges, as they know you need to be listed in their directories.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Once people work out that starting a thread on North Stand Chat is the way to get the answer to every question that ever gets asked anywhere - then the phone book and yellow pages will fade into insignificance.



PS Does anyone know a cheap, but reliable ROOFER in Brighton?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

A Thompson Local just thudded through the door... I can't understand how and why they are still printing phone book type things anymore. Its a frigging waste of paper and ink to print one for every house in the country when I would think more than 50% of the country would use online directory services now, or call directory enquiries.

Do you use a phone book/directory or do you search online? Probably not going to be very indicative here as most of us on here are computer types, and I'm guessing its the elderly or those without computers are more likely to use a paper directory. But I think its a heck of a waste anyhow...

Sort of see the point of Yellow Pages or Thomsons Local - tho in reality about as much use having two of them as having half a dozen Directory Enquiry numbers or ten tinternet Search Engines say. No point whatsoever in having phone books with individual subscribers numbers in. Only of use to stalkers or crank callers and must zap several (no doubt sustainable) forests every print run. Time The Phone Book was allowed to pass into history IMHO.